Common Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/CCRA/W
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
Range of Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Here are a few ways our students are conducting research in the classrooms.
Graphic Organizers
Popplet Lite and Smart Art in Word are great tools to use to organize information and essential facts required for the research project.
My favorite website to use for research is Instagrok. You can change the reading level of your searches by sliding the bar at the top of the page, which is helpful and you can build your own Journal to share with students or they can create their own journals of notes.
Another favorite research tool is SC Discus. Students can create workspace projects as they conduct their research.
Students using iPads have enjoyed using the App StoryKit and Book Creator to create their own textbooks using photos, their own paintings, recordings of their voices, and typing their findings on each page.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-ela-resources-elementary-matt-davis. Edutopia ideas
Publish Student Work
Register for a Schooltube account tutorial
Upload videos to Schooltube tutorial
GCSD Blog publish video tutorial
Websites for Research
www.instagrok.com Use Firefox or Chrome, not Internet Explorer
http://scdiscus.org SCDiscus
www.enchantedlearning.com Ask your PTA to buy a school account, no ads
Photos:
http://www.edutopia.org/life-magazine-online-photography-analysis
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/lincoln/ Library of Congress
Apps:
Book Creator iMovie StoryKit SockPuppet Popplet
QR Code Generator for FireFox
PDF QR Code Generator for Firefox
QR Code Movie: How to Create a QR Code
T Search Research Graphic Organizer
How to Create a T-Search Research Tshirt SCAN-ETS3327_000
instaGrok is a fabulous way to throughly explain a term to students using a web with definitions, videos and articles pulled from various sources on the internet. Thank you for letting me know about this very useful website!
I love seeing the enthusiasm about magnets in Mrs. Hick’s 4th grade as the children use the ipads! Proof that technology really has an impact on learning!
I loved seeing the science stations in Mrs. Hicks’s class. It gave me some great ideas how I can incorporate IPads in my science class. Here’s hoping we get some! 🙂
InstaGrok is a great way to engage students in research. After searching a topic, you can make a cool graphic organizer, add photos or videos, complete with links to the sources. You can journal and make quizzes directly from it, then tweet it, email it, post it to Facebook, etc. The fact that you can change the level of difficulty makes it a versatile tool for teachers of all levels. As a special educator, it would make it easy for me to present information to students of similar grades whose instructional levels vary greatly. You must have an account with InstaGrok to use it…not sure if it is free of charge.